These thoughts were preserved on my mind for many months now.Since I started analysis of artworks, I always had a strong focus on the character behind the works.But still it is hard to write about this, because I cannot give any concrete example for what I mean as no single artwork is neutral enough to talk about it, without giving ideas about the person who created it. Around us there are thousands of profiles, each one telling a different, unique story. Now I am not going to spend any word about the art anymore, just the artists I met so far.

I saw people filled with inner darkness, expressing their suffering through black and white, abstract works. All they try is making people see their darkness, sharing their inner worlds in a way that we might understand them. I have something to say to these: It is good to express emotions, it is great to share feelings with others and to find comfort doing this. But there is a high price to be paid. By creating such a reality, we focus more and more on this darkness, we might forget about things in life that bring a smile on our face, we might even think, that this is all there is in life. Of course, there are wounds that cannot heal easily, beloved people who died, horrible scenarios on our mind, fears and disgust. All these thoughts that burned themselves deep into our minds are reflected in our art, but vice versa we can also add more darkness to them, making reality darker and darker with each artwork.I know that it might feel disgusting to do the opposite from what your mind is thinking about - bright and colourful, beauty without decay, documenting joys and lucky moments, but by collecting these images on our mind, contrary to the dark world, we can re-discover life in a more optimistic way.

I also saw people longing for popularity and attention, doing everything to be seen: Submitting their works in hundreds of groups, adding billions of favourites every day to make people visit their works (or just to increase this number that suggests to be important/meaningful...), posting short comments or even adding you as a friend to make you watch them back.Some of them have gentle hopes; they really try to make a living out of art and it must be very hard and energy-consuming. Others just do it for their sense of self-worth. They are unsure about their own talents, their own physical look or body and they rely on strangers, (which do not know much about them) to tell them that they are good. Do we live for numbers? Can we eat praise? Is there any good sense in this wish? Do we prosper from others seeing our nudity? Do we feel important, beautiful or wanted then? Answer these questions on your own. Why do you put yourself so low, why do you compare yourself so much to others? - To people you think are much better (artists) than you, maybe even just because they are popular. But there is a huge gap between quality and popularity and you will feel this when you submit your own favourite works and "nobody" seems to like them. I know this thought very well - I think every artist has felt this disappointing sadness. I have to tell you: You alone have to love or at least like what you do. You alone decide what is "true art", "good taste", "creative" and "meaningful". If you search your worth in other people you are like a sailing ship that is a toy for the wind, because you don't decide the course.

Furthermore, I met photographers which first inspired me, day by day. Until the moment the magic was lost. It was that very moment that I realized that they are just doing all the same, copying each other, pilgrimming to "magic" places, because they had seen them somewhere and they decided to forget about all beauty in their nearby environment, just to take "that certain photo of a certain place" they had seen on the internet. If you people do not adore waterfalls, stop shooting them. If you do not adore Iceland, stay at home. I think this photographic travelling is sometimes a pity for every resident living in that area, because they just see people with watches, taking maybe one day, or one week to capture all their treasures on their camera's sensor, but not even knowing anything about what they see. They post those famous descriptions under these works that every tourist might see visiting that place. The same people also think that a certain combination of quality, rule-of-thirds, longtime-exposure, postwork saturation and colours can create a certain effect that will everyone make excited about their art. But they lack soul, they lack reflexion over their subject, before they press the shutter, they are following a utopian idea called "the perfect photograph".I just have to preach you: A good photographer takes good pictures of anything (he wants), everywhere in the world, even the dust on his own shoes. I unwatched them all, they do not inspire me at all anymore.

Similar to the last group are some who are studying arts. They follow a certain style of photography, obviously visible especially in fashion photography. They shoot series to prove that they can stick to a certain topic, to prove that they can satisfy your wish, when you book them to shoot a certain style. I can smell any of these photo students on 50 miles - and they do not smell very well. And it is easy: Even just looking at titles, without looking at the typical style of their works, you will realize that they have learned to shoot series "blue mind 01, blue mind 02, blue mind 03...." Many of them are filled with arrogance, thinking that they are "true" artists, just because they are studying arts - and those are the worst students of this kind. I do not criticise art students in general, but when I see that some of them just absorb their professor's ideals, ... Good art students are those who do not look like typical art students, I think.

Others are dreamers, they put all their hopes and wishes into their works. They take pictures of old watches, keys, sometimes flowers and much more. Consequently, they have strong symbolism in their works. Most of them are open books. And everyone who takes the time, can read their stories and hearts, if he understands their language. It is hard to conclude anything about these, because they are all different, they just use the same way to express themselves. But I have also words for you: Waiting for people to read your story most of the time is disappointing. Many just have eyes for themselves. I don't want to claim that waiting for someone to read this unique book is your intention - but people being aware of the chance to learn a lot about you, are rare. Maybe in some cases it might be very important to transform your wishes into reality, which is sometimes hard work, but possible. Dreaming can make oneself passive and inactive, be aware of this. We should reconsider everything we dream of as many of us are chasing rainbows, which contain nothing but disappointment in the end. I can just warn about putting one's sense in life into something that won't last eternally, because you will definitely lose it someday and your world will fall apart. But this is not said to discourage you, just to prevent you from bitter regret.

Some artists are great, they specialized on a certain field, which they know very well. I like to invite you to change your field of profession at least sometimes, because from the distance you can reflect over your own art much better. That means that if you leave your favourite area, concentrating on something else, you will see what you did before with other eyes, which will help you transform your favourite kind of art into something better and better. Sadly, I must admit that sometimes these repetitions take away the magic of the idea. In the same way someone who makes movies might have problems enjoying any movie without analysing it. It is still very important to create unique artworks, with thought-out concepts. Good examples of this kind of artist are some architecture photographers, which are prone to repeat certain angles, compositions, colour combinations.

Another group of people is using an art community in the same way they are using everything else: As a chance to get in touch with potential partners (talking about relationships, not about business or companions etc.) or just to passively look at them, collecting pictures of their dream type, writing "charming" words under those people's self-portraits which are longing for popularity and/or attention. They know exactly what they do and if you browse their favourites or check out their own works or their profile, you will find an accumulation of certain kinds of people (e.g. young girls which are searching for praise). Some of these searchers are isolated in real life, using the Internet to get in touch with people. This is not necessarily something bad, but sometimes it can get really nasty, I think.

The last group I want to talk about is doing something I cannot understand emotionally, but it is fascinating and interesting for me. I am talking about "art appreciators" , which do not submit any art, already being happy enjoying other people's works. I think that many of those who appreciate art so much, could be great artists themselves. I would like to encourage you to share your own ideas, creativity with the world! But I also understand when someone wants to stay incognito, not giving any hint about himself, because he might have been hurt or insulted by others before. This is often visible in their favourites.

Some months ago I was reading Kahneman's 'Thinking Fast and Slow' which is quite a brilliant book. In one chapter the author introduces a thinking-fallacy he calls "WYSIATI".It stands for "What You See Is All There Is" and it's absolutely ironic, because humans are prone to judge just based on what they see, and not on "what they DON'T see".In the same matter I want you to understand that this journal entry is not made to categorize every person using deviantart - I am just sharing with you what I have observed. It's your turn to use it in a productive, non-destructive way.

I always liked to analyse (/getting to understand) things Thank you!Glad to see there are some reflective people out there. People seem not to think about themselves or others much anymore.They fuel their engines, but they rarely know why and where they want to go.

Same here - so I totally understand you! I've even been told by someone who recently got to know me that 'I think too much'. I don't think there's anything such as too much thinking if it doesn't do harm And more often than not, the thinking stops me from doing (or not doing) anything I will regret later.

That's true - many only focus on what to project rather than about the 'consequences' of what they are projecting as a result. And for the thinkers like us, we get told we're judgmental and that it's wrong to judge -.- (instead of just realizing we are just highly observant, taking in and trying to understand what is being projected at us by them after all)...

I think most people just want instant gratification - it takes them to a short-lived destination of feeling important for a little while, but in the long run takes many of them nowhere significant. The internet has a lot to blame for this I believe. A lot of people also like to take the easier route... but what is life if you don't continuously challenge yourself and continue to learn?

I see.Yes, I frequently get to hear the same "You are thinking too much".I mean I know that too much thinking can be unhealthy, but that is just when one is caught in his/her thoughts (vicious circle) without any productive outcome.But usually this sentence is not making much sense at all.

I am sure that the mayority of humankind is thinking too little! Sustainable thinking is getting more unfamiliar every day, I think. Especially when it comes to self-awareness and self-reflection. I am also concerned about the consequences of materialsm and consumism. Some people seriously think: " I am not happy now, but if I had that... (iphone whatever), I would feel much better."And they even enjoy unpacking the box, enjoying the look of something new and expensive, but just after a few days they look for the next destination point, because they are rarely satisfied with technical gadgets etc. In photography the same happens saying: "If I had your camera, I would..."

I am reading books about the influence of Internet on modern thinking (at least I have already ordered them!) ( www.amazon.de/Alone-Together-S… )They are all using new technologies, but they do not think how this technology shapes them. What I see nowadays are "Internet slaves" who even need to see the latest posts of their friends on Facebook when they are on holidays on a caribbean island.... It's getting more absurd every day. "I have no time, I have no time" they say, but they are wasting a mayority of their free time with uselessness (apps, facebook, checking emails, browsing through the Internet, and also sometimes spending too much time on deviantart, which is not healthy, either.)

Scientists even say that using search engines like google makes us more lazy every day. We think: "Oh I can look that up, I don't have to remember it." - In older generations people had to remember and learn things by heart, but nowadays we cannot even calculate something like 12 x 13 without a calculator. (Of course there are exceptions, but I guess the principle remains true)

Excellent read. It's good to see some shared thoughts/feelings regarding different types of DA users/artists, even better when trying to figure out where you fit and actually consider some of the points that you feel you can apply to yourself and try out. I read a aparagraph and didn't wanna wait to finish work before reading the rest hehe

Wow, amazing article. I agree about the darkness bringing more darkness, but i find the opposite quite irritating as well. So I guess it's a matter of choices. I'm fine with the goth artists, they do their thing. I think you are a bit too harsh with what people must do. If someone wants to go to Iceland, even if he/she doesn't know why and the results are shitty, let them go to Iceland. Even if someone tries to copy someone else, the result will never be the same. many artists start copying, imitating, homaging, whatever you want to call it, and from that point the start developing their own sensibility.

Thanks for reading the article and your comment!I myself am not sure how to help or deal with certain people, so my advice might not be helpful.Also I am a believing christian which sees hope and sense in life just in the realization of one's own sinfulness and consequently repentance, which can really give a person the deepest inner peace that one can imagine. I think that people who live in their own darkness need much more light and hope than others of us. Darkness sometimes is like a cage which seperates us from happiness and peace. You are especially right about "Iceland". Also I stopped commenting about those works which I do not like, because I accept that these people want to do their art as they themselve want, it's their own choice of creativity and artistic freedom.What actually bothers me more about my own article that the title of the article is not even addressed, because I cannot start giving examples of what I mean, I would talk about concrete people/persons. I wish for everyone to start analysing "the whole" of a thing, of a gallery, a person, because in this we find the key to understand the artist, his/her motivations and feelings.

You see, i see Deviantart as a mosaic, each artist contributing with a piece. Some bring more beautiful or meaningful pieces, but everybody creates the mosaic. Personally I feel sometimes like I made a work that noone else could have done, so in a sense I made for everybody something that noone else could have done. The same when I see some fine work by others -like yours- I feel like you were completing for me what I cannot complete, what I cannot achieve. I don't know if all this sounds like jibberish, I'm not a native English speaker.

So even if someone creates an empty piece of imagery, or it does not resonate inside me, I consider it valid since it helps the good stuff stand out. Everything is useful.

I understand what you say about the whole, understanding the artist and so on, but I don't analyse it that much, much les my own stuff. Maybe I should! I agree that you must consider the whole work to see what this artist is all about. But I must admit I never wonder too much about their personal lives. Everyone changes all the time, the goth girl one year will stop being goth/creating goth imagery the next.

You don't have to be a christian to see hope and sense in life. Hope and sense in life existe way long before any religion, it that was not the case civilization would have not existed in the first place!

And yes, people change But even that is visible in the galleries, maybe it is even the only sure thing we can observe in art.

" Hope and sense in life existe way long before any religion"

Well, if you look at the world, do you see hope and sense in life? - I myself mostly see people walking around without any clear direction/aim in life. Desperation, darkness, hate, selfishness.

"it[if] that was not the case civilization would have not existed in the first place"

Interesting! But I would say that God has existed long before any civilization and I think without Him no life would have come into existence at all, because life itself is something godly, highly complex and genuine!

Yes, that is true, even in concentration camps. But consider that most people in these camps have been Jews, which believe in God, who gives hope to them.Do you know about this person? it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich…

I think your view of the world of those who do not believe in God -Desperation, darkness, hate, selfishness- is quite distorted, but then again, I'm not in the habit of giving advices, much less on metaphysics. We feed ourselves of believes as we feed ourselves of food, so one has to watch what comes in.

So is your advice : "hey people ! do the opposite of what you usually do ! Changing from time to time is a good thing !" ?Or is your advice : "Do as I tell you to, this is the way to go, you are no doing it right" ?

Because I would understand the first point of view, not the second one obviously

Hi Well, I don't think there is something to be suggested to all groups in common. So neither the first advise, nor the second. My focus was also not on giving advise, more on giving ideas to think about. I did not write this to change artists or to make them become different, maybe more to make them realize that there ARE certain types of users/artists

Wow well written! I agree with a lot of what you said and I have noticed most of the types you have talked about. I wanted to say, with the students one, I found it very frustrating having to follow the professor's rules in how we had to do a project and it limited our scope for themes we were interested in. In 2003, in my 2nd year of the course, I did a bad set of work I was unhappy with and it reflected in my work. Nevertheless to say, I threw the work out at the end. You are absolutely right, our hearts HAVE to be in the work/subject for us to succeed with the artwork, we must be happy with it ourselves. I know I have done a lot of works I am very happy with and it reflected beautifully, and the work I was not happy with didn't get much praise so I knew that it was important I do what I enjoy most. One project I did in my studies focused on an abandoned place and my professor agreed it was a good theme (that made me very happy and excited!) and the end result was a fantastic set of artworks I was so happy with and it helped progress my development and skills. Those works sold since so I think cos what I put in with happiness and enjoyment, the buyer got a lot out of the artworks too. I will only do what I enjoy the most thats it so far successful especially the last 2 years. I used to work largely in acrylic painting on canvas and then one day, a yearning to depict my favourite subjects in watercolour and ink came about 3 years ago, and from then a slow steady progress happened and I developed the skill, and it was a delightful development that is still going

Hey Thanks for your comment.I am glad that you can agree with the student's part.I myself was visiting an art university in 2010 in my nearby environment and my short visit was really helpful to realize that I have to adjust to someone else's opinion and I knew I would have been hurt a lot there. I was already warned reading a good book about Caspar David Friedrich who was complaining about the art universities of his age a lot. And he went into another direction with his art and thus he had a lot of enemies in the "official" art scene. (he wanted to have religious symbolism in his (nature) paintings, but it was common sense to avoid this - it was the age of pure naturalism [showing nature without intention, without symbolism]. He also realized that certain famous artists were branding their students with their system of beauty and perception of art and he said it was limiting those young artists.

I am glad to read that you have experienced that creating artworks in a way you like the most, creates really good artworks. I wish for you to improve more and more!

You're most welcome and thank you for posting your insight, it was very important and made me realise I am not the only one that felt the same way about the student problem with professors. The part about art having to be beautiful has been limiting I agree and some of the students I studied alongside made me realise that art should not have to be beautiful, but inspiring, controversial or leave us thinking, but it depends on the artist if the artist was happy with it and following only their heart and not some trend. At uni art course, I was hurt, annoyed and felt trapped at times. While the course was good for technique building up and the like, I was very happy to finally finish and graduate. I will keep developing and evolving no doubt I am the happiest I have ever been, feeling in my element. At the moment I have set up a blog that is directed toward the development of a plan that includes a subject I'm in love with for a long time and it's finally coming to fruition, but there is more to go and then more on another subject I love, so exciting times ahead!

"art should not have to be beautiful, but inspiring, controversial or leave us thinking"

This is often quite rash. Inspiration can be found anywhere, just looking at a bird, a tree or even just a small stone. But I am mostly just quoting this part because of the last words "controversial/leave us thinking".I hate this, because many artworks are just created to provoke without any deeper meaning. It is the following thought: "If I create something that does not make sense to the viewer, it will make them think eternally and this given exposure to me." I have seen lots of artworks which were clearly without any meaning, any idea. Especially in modern arts. Artworks without meaning are without soul. This is often collateral to extreme materialsm, which claims that life has no sense - and feelings and the inner world are nothing but illusions (which reduces humankind to a machine, if you ask me.)I mean, I tolerate those perceptions of art, but for me they are dead sometimes. I think the problem rises with the idea that an artist wants to create artworks JUST to evoke a certain effect/reaction in the viewer.

This is similar to the problem I described with some photographers above. They go to a certain place, because they think that they can create images their that people prone to like/love.

What you said makes a lot of sense and I apologise if I offended there. The thing is sometimes, because I'm profoundly Deaf and while I read and see things, there is often that element I miss out on with hearing people talk. I have only ever read in written form or lipread bits and parts of what an artist said about their own work (at presentations on their work at uni at the time) that they had done to provoke reaction and I thought, fair enough but for me to do that has never been my interest personally, but have supported those artists who wanted to get out what they felt about an issue through their art, and had always thought that is how they felt about the issue passionately. I don't know what else they say or what other people say in voice if they have talked about it further so that part of me does not know what the other may have felt about the artwork. I'm getting more on what you are saying about provoking reaction from others, it's like the artist is not doing it for themselves, but for a reaction from others and that may be not from their heart. You have given me more of a deeper insight into this (and I passed your journal entry onto a good friend of mine tonight to read as she's an artist herself and I felt she would understand your perceptions and probably would relate to the student part too like I did), and you have got me thinking more on what other people's art may be doing or more not doing for themselves. I guess when I said art should not have to be beautiful, I was maybe more referring to the artwork being appealing only to the artist him/herself than to the others but at the same time, I didn't think on the controversial part, as I mentioned above, thinking more that maybe the subject from that artist was more based on their passionate feelings of the issue that he/she painted/drew about. A bit confusing, I know, but makes sense from your perception

When you put that about art having a deeper meaning, that is something I do resonate well with as that is what I feel about my art, anything I create, I put in my passion for that subject because I love it and it makes me happy, like I love abandoned buildings for the fascination I have with them and their history.

My blog link is taxivwbeetle.blogspot.com.au/p… and it is relating to my personal love for my little old bug and the story I want to tell about her. It has only just begun so it is in its early stages at this point

Oh, don't worry, there was nothing offending in your comment! I am glad this article helps you getting deeper into the topic.I am also glad to read that you put your heart into your artworks.Thanks for the link.